Chrysalis
by With-the-Wolves
Summary: After wiping out most of the changelings during the war, Princess Luna is tasked with taking care of the last changeling queen so the species will continue. The two quickly become close friends. But, as Equestria faces numerous other challenges, Luna must decide where her loyalties lie. (Searching for a better title, if anyone wants to help.)


**Okay, so the idea of an MLP/Ender's Game crossover has been in my head for a while, and I finally figured out how I wanted to do it.**

**This story itself isn't an Ender's Game crossover, for the most part. But the background of the story is-probably not actually at all like Ender's Game, but it's close-ish.**

**SuperHappyMegaAmazingUpload Day Tally: 9**

* * *

Luna stared at the queen towering over her, temporarily unable to move. The queen was terrifying. She was black, with a rather porous body, and a raggedy white mane.

After what seemed like an hour but was actually just a few seconds, Luna regained control and bowed to the queen.

"I'm sorry." She breathed into the ground. "I'm so sorry."

The queen regarded Luna for a few seconds before turning away and walking toward one of the many crevices in the wall. Luna got to her feet and followed.

The queen pulled a small green bundle out of the crevice and handed it to Luna.

Luna instantly understood. "This is your next queen."

The queen nodded.

"But why…?" Luna looked at the queen again, this time noticing her pallid face and milky eyes. The queen didn't even look steady on her feet. "You're dying."

The queen nodded again.

Luna looked from the queen to the bundle and back again. "She can bring your species back, can't she? I just need to find her a safe place where she can hatch…and lay eggs, and multiply. If I do that, you won't die?"

The queen nodded again.

Luna smiled. "I'll do it. I'll find her a safe place and the changelings will be a strong race again!"

The queen smiled back at Luna, before laying down for what would be the last time.

Luna stared at the queen for a few seconds before she left, tears glistening in her eyes and hope finally back in her heart.

* * *

Luna and her army weren't able to go back to Equestria immediately. There were some concerns that certain groups of ponies would take advantage of the, or that they would be attacked by changeling-sympathizers.

Luna didn't mind too much. She'd been away from home too long; she barely even remembered it. Besides, she had to plan how she would hatch the young changeling queen and bring back the changelings without causing riots.

She sat on her bed and looked at what she assumed was a chrysalis, wondering how the queen would even know when it was safe to come out.

_**You'll tell me, of course.**_

Luna screamed and fell off the bed. She landed with an _oomph_ on the floor of her room. "Who said that?" She asked loudly in the room. No one was in the room. _Well, I didn't imagine it, so _someone_ must have said it._ She thought.

_**Sorry. **_

"Maybe I'm just crazy." Luna said out loud, climbing back onto her bed.

_**I don't think you're crazy. Maybe a tiny bit of PTSD, but that's normal considering everything you've done.**_

Luna looked around. The voice _definitely_ wasn't coming from her imagination. It was too clear. Besides, she didn't think she_ could_ imagine a voice like that. She didn't even know how to describe it, other than that it reminded her of the…Oh.

Luna stared at the chrysalis, putting her face right next to it. "Hello? Is that you?"

_**Naturally.**_

"How can you even talk? You don't have a mouth, or I don't think you do. Besides, you're inside this chrysalis, and your voice doesn't sound muffled at all."

The queen laughed. _**I'm talking to you telepathically.**_

"_What? _Can you hear my thoughts?" Luna said, rather frantically. Some of her thoughts could be considered rather rude, but they were only thoughts! Luna didn't want the changeling queen to hate her!

_**No. Should I be concerned about them?**_

"No, it's just…Well you can't control your thoughts." Luna said.

The queen was silent for a moment.

"What?" Luna said.

_**Ponies can't control their thoughts?**_

"No. Can changelings?"

_**The queens can. The drones, well…They don't really **_**have**_** thoughts.**_

"That sounds awful!"

_**You don't understand. I don't think ponies can. It's part of a hive-mind. If the drones had individual thoughts, it wouldn't be a hive mind. It would be...Whatever system ponies use.**_

Luna was unconvinced, but she didn't push it. "Well, anyway, do you have any ideas for how to bring back the changelings?"

The queen was silent for about a minute. Luna assumed she was thinking. _**It doesn't really matter where I hatch. Once you go back to Equestria, anywhere will do. After that I'll need somewhere to shelter. Any ideas?**_

"Well…There are some empty rooms in the castle, as well as lots of trap doors and things that only 'Tia and I know about. I could show them to you."

_**Hmm…it'll work to begin with.**_

Luna smiled, glad to have helped a pony—or, changeling, rather—that she now considered a friend.

* * *

It didn't take long for Princess Celestia to decide that it was safe for her sister and the other foals to come back to Equestria. It may not have been entirely safe, but she missed her sister too much to wait longer.

As soon as Luna arrived back, Celestia galloped to meet her. She was met with rather a surprise—a nearly full-grown alicorn with a crescent moon cutie mark. She guessed her sister was being met with a similar surprise—Celestia was older too, and she had reached the height of her powers. She didn't look much like she did all those years ago.

The two ponies regarded each other warily for a few seconds, and it was beginning to get a bit awkward, when Luna suddenly embraced her sister, a gesture which the older returned.

Finally, they broke out of their hug and stared at each other.

"You…look different." Celestia said awkwardly, no longer certain how to talk with her sister.

Luna laughed. "You're one to talk!"

With that, the barrier was broken and the two sisters started talking and laughing just as they had before the war.

Later, Luna went into one of the empty rooms, bringing the chrysalis with her. She set it on the ground and stepped back. "Okay…You can hatch now."

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the chrysalis started jumping about crazily as the being inside struggled to get out.

Luna stared at the chrysalis. "Do you need some help?" She asked after a minute or so.

_**I've…I've got it.**_ The queen said breathlessly.

Luna continued watching as the chrysalis jerked around, but the queen seemed to be making no progress as far as escaping her prison. "Are you sure you don't need a hand? I can get some scissors, or if those don't work, I'm sure there's a knife in the kitchen."

The chrysalis continued struggling. _**I can...do it myself.**_

Luna shrugged and sat down to watch again. Every so often she'd offer help, but the queen wouldn't accept it.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, the chrysalis grew still. Luna thought she could hear the queen panting, though she didn't know if it was from within the chrysalis or in her head. "Are you okay?" Luna asked, walking over to where the chrysalis lay.

_**I don't…I don't understand.**_ The queen said.

"Well...That chrysalis seems like it's made from pretty tough material." Luna said, trying to console the queen.

_**Yes, but the others had to break free by themselves. Why can't I?**_

Luna tilted her head. "How do you know they had to break free by themselves?"

Luna swore she heard the queen sigh. _**Logic. The others were hatched from within the hive. They didn't have perky little ponies with scissors and knives to help them. **_She said, with a mocking emphasis on 'perky little ponies'.

Luna was silent for a moment. "Yes...But _maybe_ they had help from drones with sharp fangs and claws. You don't have to do everything yourself, you know."

The queen was silent for a few seconds. _**Just get the scissors.**_

Luna returned with the sharpest scissors she could find to see the chrysalis jumping around again. She sighed and sat down to wait. After a few minutes, the jumping ceased, and Luna could hear panting again. "Are you done now?"

_**Just get it over with.**_

Luna trotted to the chrysalis and cut a slash from the top to the bottom. The queen struggled out of her prison and collapsed on the floor, visibly exhausted.

Luna regarded the queen. She was a lot smaller than Luna; she looked like a filly! Then again, Luna supposed, she _was_ a filly. She also was black in color, with the porous body that seemed a mark of the changelings. Her mane was green, like the chrysalis, and her small wings were the same.

After a few seconds, the queen got to her feet and stared up at Luna with green eyes. "That was kind of embarrassing."

At those words, Luna lost control and collapsed onto the floor, laughing. The queen looked at her with hurt in her eyes and looked dejectedly at the floor. "What kind of queen _am_ I?" She muttered.

When Luna finally stopped laughing and saw the queen staring at the floor, she felt terrible. She walked over and sat next to the queen. "I'm sorry." She said. "I shouldn't have laughed."

The queen looked at Luna quickly, then back at the floor, before Luna could see the tears brimming in her eyes. She swallowed hard to drive them back. "I'm supposed to bring back my entire race, but I can't even break free of my chrysalis without help."

Luna couldn't help but smile a little bit at the ignorance of this little queen. "It takes more strength to admit that you need help than to continue failing without help."

The queen snorted.

Luna rolled her eyes. "When you were still in your chrysalis, you were completely confident in your ability to do this! What changed between then and now?"

"I made a fool of myself."

Luna sighed. "So what? I was the only one who saw it, and I can hardly tell anyone that there's still a living changeling." She wrapped her wing around the queen comfortingly. "You can do it. I believe in you."

The queen looked at Luna, then back at the floor. She got to her feet. "Okay. I guess I can at least try. And if I fail, well…" She looked at Luna again. "You'll be the only one to see it."

Luna smiled.

The queen sat down again. "I'm really tired. I think I should sleep for awhile. You can come back tomorrow to show me those secret passages."

Luna nodded and started to leave the room. When she got to the door, she halted, and looked back at the very small queen. "What should I call you? I can't just call you 'the queen'."

The queen smiled and said, "Chrysalis."

Luna laughed and walked back to her room, smiling the whole way.

* * *

**So, if you don't mind, reviews are greatly appreciated. I don't write serious stories very often, so any feedback is wonderful. Although, if you could try to be nice, I'd appreciate it more. Bit if you just hate me too much to even pretend to be nice to me, well, it's still a review!**


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